Jacqueline wants to put a poet in your pocket

A Worksop-born poet has launched a crowd-funding campaign with the help of 14 contemporary UK poets to produce a fun new way to read poetry.

Jacqueline Gabbitas, originally from Kilton, has created Traverse Poetry Trading Cards which are packs of randomly chosen cards each with poem on one side and fun facts and chatter about poets on the other (in a way similar to the popular Top Trumps cards).

They’ll be available to buy online and in bookshops from September but you can support Jacqueline’s fund-raising campaign now through the crowd-funding site Indiegogo.

There are lots of contemporary poets including Ian McMillan longside favourite poems from the likes of William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barratt Browning and William Blake.

The rarest card also has a special chip in it that will send the lucky owner to an exclusive video of award-winning poet David Constantine reading and talking about Jacqueline, who is hoping to raise funds to help independent publisher Stonewood

Jacqueline said: “The idea for Traverse is a bit quirky, I know.

“I like to collect things and I love poetry and those Top Trumps-type games on your iPad.

“I’d been wondering what I could do that would bring some of these things together.

“I was thinking more of an app than a physical thing but then I thought well, actually, these could be really lovely collectors items for adults.

“And because they’re quite small they’d make nice little presents or thank you gifts for anyone who likes books, and especially poetry.

“Some of the cards will be very beautiful with gold foil on them or embossed, and I’m very excited by the micro-chipped one.

“The Indiegogo campaign is also about introducing people to the project – there’s even a special orange-scented card that you can only get through Indiegogo.

“I’m in favour of anything that gets people reading poetry because it really does have something for everyone, from poems we write in people’s birthday cards to ones we read at weddings or other occasions.”

To find out more about the Indiegogo campaign visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/traverse-poetry-trading-cards

Alternatively, emial writing@jacquelinegabbitas.net, like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/traversepoetry follow the scheme on Twitter at @traversepoetry #PutAPoetInYourPocket or on Instragram at TraversePoetry.